The ‘Black Friday’ equivalent of school shopping has passed, and most students have obtained the required textbooks for their classes. Once again, the helpful staff at the Bucks Bookstore has assisted those who were struggling to get all of their books on time.
Haleigh Morgan, Campus Relations representative for the Bucks Bookstore and Follett, (the company which the Bookstore operates through) states, “There has been a lot of change this summer, from store leadership to shopping experience.
“In July, Joe Judge joined BCCC Bookstore as the new store manager and Bob Michalis also joined as the new text manager. Both bring extensive campus retail experience to their new roles”.
Kinesiology major, Kate Kelly, 19, of Warrington states, “I do like the way that people immediately help you find the books you need; they’re very kind”.
Additionally, the search database and layout of the floor has made shopping for textbooks a swift experience for most.
Environmental Science major, Devon Longmore, 21, of Holland says, “What I like about the Bookstore is that it’s relatively easy to find what you’re looking for; it’s very organized…they have a great selection of other miscellaneous items and school supplies, which is also convenient”.
The Bookstore has also undergone some physical changes, adding a new atmosphere to shopping. Ms. Morgan states, “The bookstore underwent a remodel with new fixtures, new carpet and new paint throughout. The upgrades will continue with new lighting, a music/intercom system and a mural to be painted behind the cash register area. The mural will be of students in front of local campus buildings to promote and celebrate BCCC culture/life within the store”.
Chef Apprentice, Kaylah Vinesky, 19, of Morrisville states, “I’ve heard of a great site called slugbooks.com, where you can search your book, and it will give you websites to compare prices for both renting and buying.”
Having instead used the Bucks Bookstore as her resource, she went on to say, “I needed everything on-hand, and needed to make sure that my books were correct…Thankfully I have a book voucher; it’s one of the saving graces of the bookstore.”
In other instances, those who take courses which require online labs are feeling pushed into purchasing new products. Business Administration major, Anthony Iaccarino, 21, of Chalfont had this to say, “I spent about three to four hundred dollars on
new books, but that was including the internet access codes that cost well over a hundred dollars.”
For many however, the alternative to buying books at the bookstore was to get them off the web. The reason: retail prices are simply too high for most full time students. Kelly states, “My anatomy and nutrition books were over a hundred dollars to rent them in the bookstore, so I rented both of those off of Chegg and Amazon.”
The problem with purchasing books offline is typically that while they are a much more reasonable price through third party-distributors, textbooks won’t reach the doorstep for several weeks. English major, Andrew Anthony, 19, of Yardley states, I primarily go to the bookstore for the convenience because it’s right there; but it’s very overpriced.”
Haleigh Morgan states, “We are committed to delivering the right course materials at the right time and in the right formats. This fall, the bookstore saw increases in rental and digital book sales. We anticipate this trend will continue next term as students continue to explore formats beyond the traditional new and used books.”
Students are also finding difficulty keeping up with the return policy at the bookstore. Devon Longmore states, “I was trying to get some of my books online, but I needed to get most of them that week; so I couldn’t wait for the shipping to go through…They only give you two days to return the book, and they can’t be opened or anything. So at that point it’s having a book to show that you have a book.”